EUR DVD Review: Biracial, Not Black, Damn It!

*You know you’re watching a groundbreaking documentary when it not only forces you out of your comfort zone but also manages to persuade you to reassess your point-of-view without resorting to potentially-alienating polemic.

This is the case with Biracial, Not Black, Damn It!, a poignant, thought-provoking and ultimately most-enlightening film directed by the brilliant Carolyn Battle Cochrane.

The product of a mixed marriage herself, Carolyn sets the tone during the opening credits of her labor of love when she wistfully states, “My mother is the most incredible role model, and she’s a white woman.” This matter-of-fact comment is, at first blush, slightly startling, since she looks like a sister and, let’s face it, we’ve all been culturally conditioned to see anyone who’s even partially-black as simply all-black.

However, the picture subtly implores you to rethink that reflexive tendency to lump biracials and blacks together unfairly. For instance, who wouldn’t be moved after hearing Carolyn, while sitting on the steps of a brownstone in the ‘hood, confront another’s prejudice with, “I think the tragedy is when you shrug your shoulders when I say it’s an identity issue.” This insightful observation by the filmmaker is only one of many by a variety of biracial adults, teens and children about what it feels like to be pigeonholed in a country with a color line when you undeniably actually happen to be equal parts black and white.

Overly embraced by African-Americans as if solely their own, yet kept at a distance by Caucasians for not being purebred lily-white, the subjects of this expose’ tend to find themselves languishing in a limbo neither of their liking nor making. “I don’t know why we have to choose,” one interviewee says tearfully. Another, who refuses to deny half of her heritage, asserts, “When you say you’re black, when you’re really mixed, you’re passing for black.”

Again and again, the theme of ethnic identity is addressed in a revealing manner, from the white mother who wonders, “How did I give birth to just black kids?” to the innocent little girl often asked by strangers what color she is who perplexedly looks down at her own arm and shrugs, “a tannish color.”

Nonetheless, there is much hope on the horizon for this invisible segment of society more in search of understanding than sympathy. After all, the census reflects that biracials are the fast growing demographic in the nation. Hence, the spirited discussion, here, about Barack Obama, indicting the President for passing up a priceless opportunity to put biracials on the map.

“He talks about ‘change’ but wouldn’t change constitute teaching white people that he is of them as well as black?” one participant suggests. “Why doesn’t America, black or white, want to see him as biracial?” asks another.

Credit Carolyn Battle Cochrane for having the guts to pose the tough questions about a taboo topic to elicit the heartfelt, sobering reflections from members of a momentarily marginalized group collectively poised to emerge as the face of 21st Century America.

34 Responses

These peeps need a HELLA “reality check”! Like…..no dis to their “background or parents?, but in THIS coiuntry? if you’re bi-racially made up of Black & White?, yo as-s ain’t nothing but….BLACK! You can start or have “clubs & support groups” n shyt? or walk around with an 8 by 10 OF your White mother or daddy?, but when the smoke clears?……BLACK!!! What planet are these contrary thoughts conceived on!? If anything?, all you are if you’re bi-racial?, is a different ingredient OF….BLACK! Haaayil!, ALL of “Us” have been bi-racial every since….slavery, no matter who or WHAT yo mama or daddy eeeeah.

Black is a “made up” terminology – just like negro and colored was – same with white, yellow, brown, & red; I think folk can be or should be whatever they want to be called. I wonder if God looks at people on this earth as black or white, brown, yellow & red – those terms and labels sure sounds very devisive to me……..

“Mixed” and “bi-racial” are NOT the same. People who are “bi-racial” CLEARLY have parents of two different races, while the “good percentage of us ‘African-Americans'” who are “mixed” cannot trace their racial bloodlines because of the African slave trade.

Biracials are very covetous of their white admixture and seethe with rage when Blacks say “we’re all mixed up anyway”. Don’t even try this with this. I think the best thing Blacks can do is stop treating them as if they are royalty amongst us…the feeling will never be returned. Do you think if they were called white they’d have a problem with that label? He11 no…they are after their portion of privileges and have no problem zealously upholding the status quo as their way “in”.

president obama has never made a secret of the fact that he was raised by his white mother & grandparents so it’s not like he’s ashamed of being white. if he chooses to say he is black that is his choice, just like the other biracials can call themselves biracial if they want to. they can’t choose how he wants to identify himself, they can only choose how they identify themselves. so because he doesn’t say he’s biracial that means he’s not biracial? they say “Why doesn’t America, black or white, want to see him as biracial?” well america didn’t say they didn’t want to see him as biracial, he calls himself black & we have to respect what he chooses to call himself.

I worked for the Census Bureau this spring and the people who I interviewed who were in interracial relationships all wanted their children classified by BOTH ethnicities. So I ended up checking 2 boxes under race, or writing in “biracial” at the request of the parents. *shrugs* I’m willing to bet that in the next 100 years or so there won’t be very many, or ANY, chocolate folks or vanilla folks left in the USA. Everybody will be the same color- somewhere in the middle. How boring will that be?

The remaining whites will still be at the top of their food chain tho or they will discriminate based on shade, phenotype, texture of hair and whether or not the “mother” is Black of white. A white mother is their trump card and they are the ones who planted the seeds and nurture this movement.

Most non-Blacks prefer to stick with their own, but too many Blacks feel they improve the stock of their offspring by mixing with other races who devalue us overwhelmingly. Once Blacks truly understand what’s going on with this movement it will dawn on you the extent our race has played a major hand in the creation of another group that hates Black with a passion and think nothing of expressing and acting on it. Research Leo Felton and see what you come up with.

I have no problem regarding these people as completely “separate” from Blacks and have been telling folks about them for years. This is their way of getting closer to whites and upholding a caste system in this country. Here’s a tip…never trust them whatsoever because they think nothing of stabbing Blacks in the back in a heartbeat.

Read these two blogs created by a staunch biracial bigot who hates Black with a passion. Then search out others and you will find they are “overwhelmingly” anti-Black and pro-anybody else as long as their phenotypes are similar.

The woman who produced the above video has choice words for Blacks to. They actually believe Blacks would be nothing without them and we are basically kidnapping and holding on to them for their superior “genes”.

Get a load of this:

mixedwhite.blogspot.com/2010/07/do-white-people-accept-us_01.html

Do White People Accept Us?

“They are willing, to some extent, to challenge their own racist attitudes, and they are impressed by pro-White attitudes in mixed people.”

tragicnegroes.wordpress.com/

What’s wrong with being Black?
Posted on July 8, 2010 by TragicNegroes

“I am sick and tired of whiny negroes challenging me with obviously disingenuous shock: “What’s so wrong with being Black anyway?!”. Do these idiots really think the civil rights movement put a total end to common sense? Racial “equality” is a charade, and everyone knows it. The problem is that most people are too cowardly to admit the truth, and so whiny negroes get away with these ridiculous challenges. Well here, let me lay it out for you. I’ll tell you what’s wrong with being Black.”

Grace, I have never seen one of their blogs that was not anti-Black/pro-white, and this is what their movement is actually built on. Recognizing both sides of your heritage is one thing, but they are overzealous in their attacks on Blacks are are extremely militant in their rants about “bringing it to Blacks”. Glad I do not overvalue them and know not to trust them. This group is ready willing and able to help roll back our gains. And there’s no wonder people like Gingrich, Geo. Wills etc are backing their movement cause it’s clear they will come in handy going forward.

The key word here is choice and they can choose identify with whatever group(s) they chose to. That being said, the title itself is a little disturbing because it only focuses on ONE race of people that they solely don’t want to be identified with. What about blacks that are ‘passing’ for white? The female and the male in the pic above ‘look’ more white than black. Do they solely mind being classified as white or is that a problem, too? Shouldn’t they have addressed BOTH races in the title of this documentary instead of one?

That is because to them and the majority of people who are not black, “black” carries the more negative connotation, while “white” denotes qualities like “purity” “superior intelligence,” etc., etc. Therefore, it would be a plus for them to be solely classified as “white” (something that will NEVER happen in THIS country).

@NYCsoul they probably wouldn’t have a problem being classified as only white. it’s the being labeled as black only the they have a problem with. like grace12_34 said, being white is thought to be the best thing since sliced bread so that’s never a problem. SMH!!

You know what I find interesting…every time I let biracials know I have no problem viewing them as completely separate and distinct from Blacks they find it upsetting as if disappointed we are not all in mourning over their departure. We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

People what none of you seem to understand is that ALL HUMAN LIFE was created from African DNA, except for the Caucasian race. They were genetically bred… The Caucasian race is only about 5000 years old, there is not trace of them in human history before that time.

love4parris, this article below makes a lot of sense to me and explains plenty.

We’re all a bit of a Neanderthal

By JOHN VON RADOWITZ

Thursday May 06 2010

Most of us have a caveman side thanks to some wayward behaviour by our distant ancestors, it was suggested today.

Experts are now convinced that early modern humans and Neanderthals interbred between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago.

Inter-human relations occurred as the first pioneering bands of Homo sapiens ventured out of Africa, scientists believe.

When they reached the Middle East they ran into groups of Neanderthals who preceded them. The rest, as they say, is history.

As a result, between 1pc and 4pc of the DNA of non-African people alive today is Neanderthal, according to the research. The discovery emerged from the first attempt to map the complete Neanderthal genetic code, or genome. It more or less settles a long-standing academic debate over interbreeding between separate branches of the human family tree. Evidence in the past has pointed both ways, for and against modern humans and Neanderthals mixing their genes.

CRADLE

Technically, the Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis, were a human sub-species which parted evolutionary company from our direct ancestors between 270,000 and 440,000 years ago.

Around 400,000 years ago early Neanderthals stepped out of their African cradle, where Homo sapiens was still evolving, and headed for Europe and Asia. At least 300,000 years later early modern humans followed the Neanderthals out of Africa. The two populations co-existed in Europe and Asia until the Neanderthals vanished forever around 30,000 years ago — driven into extinction by the smarter and more competitive modern humans.

Prof Svante Paabo, of the Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, said: “Those of us who live outside Africa carry a little Neanderthal DNA in us.”

Melody: I was looking into the F.A.Q’s of this A.D.Powell and I really don’t see much. IMHO I wouldn’t really pay too much attention to some a..hole with this much time on their hands. Looked around for a sense of activity on the site, but there is very little of it. Almost unmeasurable amount of activity or posting. A lot of people can have the most flawed logic on life, but have an extensive blog with all types of inaccuracies listed. They just find a “professional” way to list dumb-shyt.
Your post was interesting, but I’ve studied too much of the works of Rogers,Van Sertima,e.t.c to put any further interest in the “studies” of this A.D.Powell.
Peace & Blessings
😎

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